Wars have long-term, underlying causes as well as immediate causes.
All conflicts have multiple perspectives.
All conflicts have key turning points that shape the eventual outcome.
Peace is not an easy thing and can lead to unintended consequences.
Total and global war were new phenomena that began with the Great War.
Technology both impacts and is impacted by war.
War is horrific.
Wars have social, political and economic effects.
Essential Questions...Think about these throughout unit...
1. What were the MAIN causes of the Great War? 2.Why did countries choose to join either the Central Powers or the Allies? 3. What were the key turning points in the Great War and what was their significance? 4. How did the Great War become total and global? 5. How did the changes in technology alter war and how does war drive technological change? 6. What are the realities of war?
The Great War (as it was known up till World War II) was to be the war of all wars. It started with the 'shot that was heard around the world', the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand (summer of 1914) while he was on a royal visit to Sarajevo. As a consequence,events unfolded which final led to the largest, most world wide conflict ever seen in the history of man. Literally tens of thousands of men would be killed in a single day. New weapons were brought into the battlefield that proved to be highly effective in killing soldiers. These inventions changed the nature of war. More importantly, the nature of war had as changed; World War I marks the most significant example of total war. No longer were efforts to be victorious extended to only the battlefield. Indeed, a nation's resources could be utilized to defeat an enemy. This meant that entire populations could be mobilized economically as well as militarily to fight a war. As such, the people of the enemy nation could become legitimate military targets.
This war ended just over four years after it had started with what was hoped to have been a permanent peace, but sadly animosities continued, wounds never healed and a global economic crisis created conditions for another war which was several times more destructive and which started just over twenty years after World War I had ended.
This is a very important war. The lessons we learn from its cause should never be forgotten if we are ever to avoid the recurrence of this sort of calamity.
We will begin with a brief background to the war. Nationalism: The Unification of Italy and Germany
Otto von Bismarck
The Bismarck Donut
The establishment of Italy and Germany upset the balance of power in Europe that had been established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Both nation-states came into being through some form of war or violence. Germany more than Italy fought wars to make this happen. Thus, it was Germany that ended up creating some animosities that would lead to some conflict with her neighbors and finally result in the Great War.
Before we get the start of the Great War we need to go back to the mid-19th century to gain some idea of how Italy and Germany came into existence and what they did to achieve nation-state status.
Using your text (see Unit 8 (3) pp. 258-263, complete the retrieval charts in the document below. Put it into a Google Doc and make it available to me in your Collections.
Question for consideration
How do you suppose France feels about the results of the Franco-Prussian War (1870)? What did she lose to the newly declared state of Germany in this war?
The above reading, albeit humorous, is meant to express how WWI like a bar fight, could have been avoided. Your reading this will help your understanding of this classically avoidable war.
World War I (1914-18) "The Reality of World War I"
"World War I: Cause & Effect"
Setting the Stage
The most important thing to learn about conflict is this: it is inevitable. War, though, is an option. Sadly, twice in the 20th world powers went to war. In the first world war, no one really knew what the results would be of their collective folly. In the second, such was not the case; most all world powers knew then of the destructive potential of the newly created war machines.
As a student of history we need to comprehend what factors took a conflict and made it into a war.
Readings: Chapter 13 (1)
Mini-Debate
We will begin our journey into the war by getting a good idea how the underlying features of European civilization at the time had made it a near inevitability that war was going to happen. Activity: Mini-debate on the Causes of World War I
Each of you will be in a group that will be given one of the readily identifiable causes of World War I. In a short period of time, you and your group are to create a thesis statement supported by arguments and evidence that yours is the main cause of World War I. Prepare also counter-arguments against arguments used by other groups.
Militarism
Nationalism
Imperialism
Alliances
See your block in the left hand margin for your team.
Interactive Website Activity: Causes of World War I
Go to You Be the Kaiser. In this activity you will be led through a series of readings providing you with the historical information you need of the background right up to the declarations of war made by the various alliances (August 3, 1914).
Purpose: Provide you with detailed information of how the issues argued above led to war.
How to do it:
Follow along in the reading interaction. Pay attention to your score. You are trying to be like the Kaiser (see p. 408 for an idea of his ego and perhaps lack of thinking).
Open one of the work sheets below (make sure that at least one of sheets is taken by a group member). Complete it as you work through the interactive readings.
Share your work using Google Docs with your group's members and with me.
Question for consideration
To what event does the cartoon below refer? How was this decision by Kaiser Wilhelm II a big mistake in the long run for Germany?
"Dropping the Pilot"
Read Chapter 13 (2)
The War
Watch the video below. It shows how the map of Europe reflected the alliances and war and how it changed boundaries.
How the War Was Fought
Soldiers "Goving over the top" to attack the German lands.
The war was fought in what came to be known as trench warfare. To understand the horrors of war go the the primary sources found at The BBC's history of World War I. Listen to and view three of the shows: "Life in the Trenches" "Over the Top," and "Gas Attack." Besides primary sources you should also look at secondary sources, that is sources which are interpretive and not always based on first hand experience. For this I want you to view a segment of a film based on a book, //All Quiet on the Western Front// by Erich Maria Remarque.
Assignment: A Letter Home
Using the above sources write a letter home describing your life as a soldier fighting in the Western Front. Be sure to use all of the following terms in your letter:
Over the top
No mans land
Trench foot
War of attrition
This letter MUST be at least 500 words long and contain the above words (maximum 750). Understanding WWI
You will be assigned ONE of the SIX presentation topics below. With your partners, your job is to READ the articles linked below and take some basic notes for the CREATION of a Prezi or Keynote presentation for the class. The presentation should explain your KEY POINTS/TERMS and have relevant images to support your information.
Make sure you answer the questions at the end of each page so that you will be ready to write your final response for a quiz later. (see final page of your topic) This project will be graded as a GROUP PROJECT and will lead to a QUIZ based on class presentations.
Visuals are provided that support points. Use of Prezi x/5
All students have a brief speaking part in the presentation x/5
Use of class time x/5
The Russian Revolution
Read 433-438
Why did Russia descend into a revolution and civil war? What was the result of this for Russia and for the world at large? How are the ideals of Marxism different than the ideals of Leninism?
START HERE FOR GUEST TEACHER
=
LESSON 1: Art and Literature in World War I
=
Understand that World War I lead to the changes in not only societies which participated in the war, but also in the realm of art and literature. Many famous writers, Hemingway, Orwell, and Maughm were so touched by the sheer brutality of WWI that it and its aftermath influenced much of their writing. As well, those that witnessed it first hand also commented on it in poems or in art. The focus here is for you to appreciate and understand how this war - indeed all wars - have a tremendous impact on the human mind in terms of art and literature. POETRY IN WORLD WAR I
"The United States must be neutral in fact, as well as in name, during these days that are to try men's souls. We must be impartial in thought, as well as action, must put a curb upon our sentiments, as well as upon every transaction that might be construed as a preference of one party to the struggle before another."
HOWEVER, things change as the war progresses...not so easy to remain neutral when you are sympathetic to AND trading with one side. Eventually the other side is going to get angry and...
Unrestricted submarine warfare (several US ships)
Sinking of the Lusitania (British passenger ship torpedoed in 1915, 1200 dead inc. 128 US)
Zimmerman Telegram (Germany would help Mexico gain back lost territory in US if they became an ally - this was the "last straw"!)
APRIL 2, 1917 - Wilson asks Congress to declare war on Germany.
IN CLASS CHALLENGE:
BREAK THE CODE FOR THE ZIMMERMAN TELEGRAM. This handout will be given to you in class.
Homework: Read and take notes 424-428 Flawed Peace
Lesson 3: The End of World War I (1)
Making peace can be just a trying as making war. Indeed, for the Big Three ('Four,' if you count Italy) such was the case. The 'War to End all Wars' was just a name. Twenty years later, the discontentment sown in the Treaty of Versailles grew into the largest global conflict the world has ever seen.
The Treaty of Versailles (suburb of Paris; all peace treaties ending WW I come out of suburbs of Paris since those were the places that they were signed) is the most important of the Paris Peace Conference. Within in it several issues were discussed of those the ones below are considered most important.
Wilson's 14 Points
War Guilt
Reparations
League of Nations
Redrawing the Map of Europe
World War 1: Cause and Effect
The End of World War I
The end of the Great War (WWI) takes some time. In 1917 two huge events occur. Russia pulls out of the war because it is in the midst of an enormous civil war pitting the Bolsheviks against the government of the Czar and its replacement. The Bolsheviks or Communists cease power and remove Russia from the war. The agreement made with Germany, though, the Brest-Litovsk Agreement costs Russia an immense amount of land. The other major change is that the United States enters the war on the side of the allies. This last addition saves the Allies and assures a German defeat.
On November 11, 1918, at the 11th hour, the guns went silent. The Great War, The War to End All Wars finally ended.
Alliances in World War I (The Great War)
The Paris Peace Treaties (1919-20)The Treaty of Versailles
IN CLASS ASSIGNMENT:
The victors of WWI had many problems to solve. Below is a handout that you can open and then save to your Google Doc. Be sure to save it in the usual way, Block Family name Given name Problems at Versailles. Open the document and answer the questions under "Tasks". Use your text, the internet and even the wisdom of your face, neck or shoulder partners - NO RUNNING AROUND THE ROOM. Due by the end of class.
The handout will be given to you in class.
Lesson 4: The End of WWI (2)
Some of the things at Versailles were enormous errors.
IN CLASS ASSIGNMENT:
See the hand out below. Work through it and consider how YOU would have reacted to Germany having to pay money, its military reduction, its having to take responsibility for the war and the League of Nations (the precursor to the United Nations). Answer the question at the bottom in a paragraph as per the instructions regarding Google Docs. Due by the end of class
The handout will be given to you in class.
Homework: Prepare to defend your position on the question below for next class. Teams are as follows: Desks 1-10 are Pro; Desks 11-22 are Con.
Be it resolved that Germany was treated too harshly at the Treaty of Versailles.
The Treaty of VersaillesThe end of World War I posed some serious problems for the Three (Four) Big Powers at the Paris Peace Conference. Those nations were Great Britain, France, and the United States (Italy if we say 'Four Big Powers').
Class Jigsaw You will be allocated one of four topics. Using your textbook, pages 424-427, take notes on your allocated area for the class. Make sure that you include the key people or terms listed below. Put major points on board.
Allies Meet and Debate
Treaty of Versailles
Problems with the Treaty of Versallies
The map of Europe changes
Read pg 424
Include an explanation of Wilson's plan for peace, fourteen points & self-determination.
Read bottom of page 424 and 425
Include an explanation of the treaty, who was involved and the League of Nations.
Read pages 425 and 427.
Explain the problems the Treaty created (also see chart above)
Look at the maps on page 426 and read "new nations created" on page 425.
Explain in detail the major changes that occurred and which new countries were created.
Enduring Understandings...
Essential Questions...Think about these throughout unit...
1. What were the MAIN causes of the Great War?2. Why did countries choose to join either the Central Powers or the Allies?
3. What were the key turning points in the Great War and what was their significance?
4. How did the Great War become total and global?
5. How did the changes in technology alter war and how does war drive technological change?
6. What are the realities of war?
The Great War (as it was known up till World War II) was to be the war of all wars. It started with the 'shot that was heard around the world', the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand (summer of 1914) while he was on a royal visit to Sarajevo. As a consequence,events unfolded which final led to the largest, most world wide conflict ever seen in the history of man. Literally tens of thousands of men would be killed in a single day. New weapons were brought into the battlefield that proved to be highly effective in killing soldiers. These inventions changed the nature of war. More importantly, the nature of war had as changed; World War I marks the most significant example of total war. No longer were efforts to be victorious extended to only the battlefield. Indeed, a nation's resources could be utilized to defeat an enemy. This meant that entire populations could be mobilized economically as well as militarily to fight a war. As such, the people of the enemy nation could become legitimate military targets.
This war ended just over four years after it had started with what was hoped to have been a permanent peace, but sadly animosities continued, wounds never healed and a global economic crisis created conditions for another war which was several times more destructive and which started just over twenty years after World War I had ended.
This is a very important war. The lessons we learn from its cause should never be forgotten if we are ever to avoid the recurrence of this sort of calamity.
We will begin with a brief background to the war.
Nationalism: The Unification of Italy and Germany
The establishment of Italy and Germany upset the balance of power in Europe that had been established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Both nation-states came into being through some form of war or violence. Germany more than Italy fought wars to make this happen. Thus, it was Germany that ended up creating some animosities that would lead to some conflict with her neighbors and finally result in the Great War.
Before we get the start of the Great War we need to go back to the mid-19th century to gain some idea of how Italy and Germany came into existence and what they did to achieve nation-state status.
Using your text (see Unit 8 (3) pp. 258-263, complete the retrieval charts in the document below. Put it into a Google Doc and make it available to me in your Collections.
Question for consideration
How do you suppose France feels about the results of the Franco-Prussian War (1870)? What did she lose to the newly declared state of Germany in this war?
Mr Green's World War I 1914-18
If World War I Was a Bar Fight
The above reading, albeit humorous, is meant to express how WWI like a bar fight, could have been avoided. Your reading this will help your understanding of this classically avoidable war.
World War I (1914-18)
"The Reality of World War I"
"World War I: Cause & Effect"
Setting the Stage
The most important thing to learn about conflict is this: it is inevitable. War, though, is an option. Sadly, twice in the 20th world powers went to war. In the first world war, no one really knew what the results would be of their collective folly. In the second, such was not the case; most all world powers knew then of the destructive potential of the newly created war machines.
As a student of history we need to comprehend what factors took a conflict and made it into a war.
Readings: Chapter 13 (1)
Mini-Debate
We will begin our journey into the war by getting a good idea how the underlying features of European civilization at the time had made it a near inevitability that war was going to happen.Activity: Mini-debate on the Causes of World War I
Each of you will be in a group that will be given one of the readily identifiable causes of World War I. In a short period of time, you and your group are to create a thesis statement supported by arguments and evidence that yours is the main cause of World War I. Prepare also counter-arguments against arguments used by other groups.
- Militarism
- Nationalism
- Imperialism
- Alliances
See your block in the left hand margin for your team.Interactive Website Activity: Causes of World War I
Go to You Be the Kaiser. In this activity you will be led through a series of readings providing you with the historical information you need of the background right up to the declarations of war made by the various alliances (August 3, 1914).
Purpose: Provide you with detailed information of how the issues argued above led to war.
How to do it:
Worksheets:
1Causes of World War One- Gap Fill Exercise.pages
- Details
- Download
- 192 KB
2VocabularyforCausesofWWI.pages
- Details
- Download
- 137 KB
3InternationalRelationsPriortoWWI.pages
- Details
- Download
- 140 KB
4TimelinePriortoWWI.pages
- Details
- Download
- 144 KB
You Be The KaiserQuestion for consideration
To what event does the cartoon below refer? How was this decision by Kaiser Wilhelm II a big mistake in the long run for Germany?
Read Chapter 13 (2)
The WarWatch the video below. It shows how the map of Europe reflected the alliances and war and how it changed boundaries.
How the War Was Fought
The war was fought in what came to be known as trench warfare. To understand the horrors of war go the the primary sources found at The BBC's history of World War I. Listen to and view three of the shows: "Life in the Trenches" "Over the Top," and "Gas Attack." Besides primary sources you should also look at secondary sources, that is sources which are interpretive and not always based on first hand experience. For this I want you to view a segment of a film based on a book, //All Quiet on the Western Front// by Erich Maria Remarque.
Assignment: A Letter Home
Using the above sources write a letter home describing your life as a soldier fighting in the Western Front. Be sure to use all of the following terms in your letter:- Over the top
- No mans land
- Trench foot
- War of attrition
This letter MUST be at least 500 words long and contain the above words (maximum 750).Understanding WWI
You will be assigned ONE of the SIX presentation topics below. With your partners, your job is to READ the articles linked below and take some basic notes for the CREATION of a Prezi or Keynote presentation for the class. The presentation should explain your KEY POINTS/TERMS and have relevant images to support your information.
Make sure you answer the questions at the end of each page so that you will be ready to write your final response for a quiz later. (see final page of your topic) This project will be graded as a GROUP PROJECT and will lead to a QUIZ based on class presentations.
1.(1) World War & Total War
2. (4) Major events, people and changes
3. The Home Front
4. (5) Woman at war
5. War in the air and the sea
6. (6) Propaganda (other sources: Propaganda in WWI Propaganda in the US)
Your grade is determined by the following criteria:
The Russian Revolution
Read 433-438
Why did Russia descend into a revolution and civil war? What was the result of this for Russia and for the world at large? How are the ideals of Marxism different than the ideals of Leninism?
START HERE FOR GUEST TEACHER
=
LESSON 1: Art and Literature in World War I
=
Understand that World War I lead to the changes in not only societies which participated in the war, but also in the realm of art and literature. Many famous writers, Hemingway, Orwell, and Maughm were so touched by the sheer brutality of WWI that it and its aftermath influenced much of their writing. As well, those that witnessed it first hand also commented on it in poems or in art. The focus here is for you to appreciate and understand how this war - indeed all wars - have a tremendous impact on the human mind in terms of art and literature.
POETRY IN WORLD WAR I
PAINTINGS IN WORLD WAR I
ASSIGNMENT: ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION IN A COUPLE PARAGRAPHS
This is to be uploaded as a Google Doc as per the following title Block Family name Given name Art in WWI. It is due at by the end of this class.How did the impression of war SEEM to change from the early war to the end of the war as expressed in art and literature?
Home work: Read and take notes pp. 417-23
Lesson 2: US Entry into the War
US "formal" entry into The Great War...not until 1917 so what finally pushed America into the fray?
*Background - US President Woodrow Wilson (D) wants to stay out the "European mess"
August 19, 1914: President Wilson's Declaration of Neutrality
"The United States must be neutral in fact, as well as in name, during these days that are to try men's souls. We must be impartial in thought, as well as action, must put a curb upon our sentiments, as well as upon every transaction that might be construed as a preference of one party to the struggle before another."
HOWEVER, things change as the war progresses...not so easy to remain neutral when you are sympathetic to AND trading with one side. Eventually the other side is going to get angry and...
Unrestricted submarine warfare (several US ships)
Sinking of the Lusitania (British passenger ship torpedoed in 1915, 1200 dead inc. 128 US)
Zimmerman Telegram (Germany would help Mexico gain back lost territory in US if they became an ally - this was the "last straw"!)
APRIL 2, 1917 - Wilson asks Congress to declare war on Germany.
IN CLASS CHALLENGE:
BREAK THE CODE FOR THE ZIMMERMAN TELEGRAM. This handout will be given to you in class.
Homework: Read and take notes 424-428 Flawed Peace
Lesson 3: The End of World War I (1)Making peace can be just a trying as making war. Indeed, for the Big Three ('Four,' if you count Italy) such was the case. The 'War to End all Wars' was just a name. Twenty years later, the discontentment sown in the Treaty of Versailles grew into the largest global conflict the world has ever seen.
The Treaty of Versailles (suburb of Paris; all peace treaties ending WW I come out of suburbs of Paris since those were the places that they were signed) is the most important of the Paris Peace Conference. Within in it several issues were discussed of those the ones below are considered most important.
World War 1: Cause and Effect
The End of World War I
The end of the Great War (WWI) takes some time. In 1917 two huge events occur. Russia pulls out of the war because it is in the midst of an enormous civil war pitting the Bolsheviks against the government of the Czar and its replacement. The Bolsheviks or Communists cease power and remove Russia from the war. The agreement made with Germany, though, the Brest-Litovsk Agreement costs Russia an immense amount of land. The other major change is that the United States enters the war on the side of the allies. This last addition saves the Allies and assures a German defeat.
On November 11, 1918, at the 11th hour, the guns went silent. The Great War, The War to End All Wars finally ended.
The Paris Peace Treaties (1919-20)The Treaty of Versailles
IN CLASS ASSIGNMENT:
The victors of WWI had many problems to solve. Below is a handout that you can open and then save to your Google Doc. Be sure to save it in the usual way, Block Family name Given name Problems at Versailles. Open the document and answer the questions under "Tasks". Use your text, the internet and even the wisdom of your face, neck or shoulder partners - NO RUNNING AROUND THE ROOM. Due by the end of class.
The handout will be given to you in class.
Lesson 4: The End of WWI (2)
Some of the things at Versailles were enormous errors.
IN CLASS ASSIGNMENT:
See the hand out below. Work through it and consider how YOU would have reacted to Germany having to pay money, its military reduction, its having to take responsibility for the war and the League of Nations (the precursor to the United Nations). Answer the question at the bottom in a paragraph as per the instructions regarding Google Docs. Due by the end of class
The handout will be given to you in class.
Homework: Prepare to defend your position on the question below for next class. Teams are as follows: Desks 1-10 are Pro; Desks 11-22 are Con.
Be it resolved that Germany was treated too harshly at the Treaty of Versailles.
The Treaty of VersaillesThe end of World War I posed some serious problems for the Three (Four) Big Powers at the Paris Peace Conference. Those nations were Great Britain, France, and the United States (Italy if we say 'Four Big Powers').
Class Jigsaw
You will be allocated one of four topics. Using your textbook, pages 424-427, take notes on your allocated area for the class. Make sure that you include the key people or terms listed below. Put major points on board.